Who remembers the blacksmith's forge in Bell's Lane at the Maypole?Also on a Friday evening there was a wooden hut, opposite the Maypole cinema, which acted as a savings point for the Birmingham Municipal Bank, in Hawkhurst Road.On the canal at Millpool Hill there were canoes and boats for hire. This was near the bridge close to the Three Horseshoes pub.All this was in the early fifties.

The E57 Social Club is near there and my first father-in-law was a founder member. The name originates from the serial number of a nissen hut that was on spare ground on the corner of Alcester Road South and Warstock Road.After WW2 permission was given for my father -in- law and some of his pals to use the ground as allotments. They used to take a crate (or two ) of beer to enjoy after their labours and the result was - the E57 Social Club!

I remember the old forge, but if it was still a going concern in the early to mid 60's ( when I first moved to the area) I cannot remember. As a family we often frequented the E57 club and saw some good acts on a Saturday night (The Hy-Kells were a popular group) I also had some good nights in the Snooker room with the lads .

Nice one Pickard. r. Very few folk today on DH seem to realise there was a prefab estate before the Municipal Estate was built, The 1st time i realised there was a previous estate was when at Sir Theodore Pritchett ( Bells Lane School) i was taken to the headmasters office and there behind him was a large Aerial picture of the Prefab Estate--nearly similar to the one i have posted--and instead of getting grilled i was asking loads of questions about it--At first the picture looked wierd because i asked ' Sir, Where's the towerblocks? and why does the school look different?' the headmaster was most pleased i showed an actual interest! Elements of the old Bells lane school still exist as mostly the Infants section, The Junior school section was added when the Municipal estate was being built in 1967, have a look at the aerial view of the school i posted to see the difference in buildings.Pickard r, do you have any photos of the prefabs at Bells farm or memories of your time there?

I think that we moved into our new house in Druids Heath in the February of 1965, the roads were just dirt tracks and there were no shops (or pub) built. I remember the school well, starting in Mr Page's class at the age of 9 and having to sit next to a girl named Jane who, 47 years later, STILL sits next to me on our settee (we married in 1974) I remember the old school buildings resembled Army Barracks and had been closed some years before I started, and were out of bounds. I don't think they were demolished until the very late 60's after I left to go on to Brandwood Secondary. Back in 1965 the estate itself was only half finished with prefabs still standing just past Pound Road leading up to The Maypole, and the old Bells Lane was still in use as the new road had yet to be finished, the area across Bells Lane (Manningford Road/Baverstock) was still fields. The shops and pub opened a year or two after we moved in and I was sent to get chips for the family on the "Grand" opening night of the new chippy which was a bad idea as I didn't have a clue what I was doing and got back home with only half of what Mom told me to get plus a pocket full of penny chews Unfortunately we were not a family of picture takers and it was only on the rare occasion for anyone in the family to even consider using the camera, so to my shame I do not have any photos to show you ......

Great stuff--intresting to note some of the prefabs were still there as they were building the estate, There were 2 wooden huts still at sir theodore (bells lane school) when i was there. when the shops opened one of them was a TASCOs--i could assume you ended up there for the penny chews lol, brilliant recall, Bobby

Having grown up in the prefabs from 1947 to leaving on demolition in 1964, it was great to see the aerial photo of the prefab estate, a photo was in the headmasters office at Bells lane school.We had to walk past the blacksmiths forge to catch the tram at the dog track alcester lanes end, and then the 50 bus was introduced after the trams finished and terminated at the Maypole.On my way home from Brandwood sec school I used to stop in at the forge and sweep the floor and help the smithy shoe the horses, wonderfull smell of burnt hoof still lingers.We used to go to the E57 for the christmas parties and concerts, I rember running around outside with the stewards daughter on sunday dinner times whilst the adults attended to their drinking inside.We all attended Bells lane school from the estate, and I have a photograph of myself and others enjoying the coronation partyWonderfull place to have grown up, bluebell woods streams to play in hay meadows to wander over.Our weekly treat was to catch the 50 bus to the Bullring and buy fish, mussels, shrimps and periwinkles from the top market hall, great days.We had two blocks of shops on the estate with Coop store Butchers, offlicence, chip shop, post office, a hardware and boot repairers.

Reading these post has been a joy and most informative, Keep those memories and pictures coming in, great to see the Maypole and Druids Heath areas have such interest, Many thanks to the contributors to this thread so far!!

There are previous posts similar to this.I started school at Bells lane in September 1951, I was 4.My older sister had already done two years there. I believe the heads name was Mr Pasco? Can anyone confirm this?We lived in a prefab at the time, but then a 3 bedroom council house came up in Ward End so we moved.

Yes Mr Pascoe was the headmaster, I started school at the age of 4 in 1951 in the reception class over looking the substation.If I remember correctly Mrs Stokes was our teacher, we could play in the sandpit on sunny days, to go to the loo we had to ask for toilet paper, two sheets of glossy Izal was all we got, and carbolic soap to wash with.On the way home we would paddle in the brook and shout at the midwifes goose kept in her backgarden.On my first day at school I ran out of class and went back home only to be marched back again, the playground was covered with gravel and most days we fell over getting gravel under our skin on our knees and palms of hands.If I can work out how to post a couple of photos of the coronation party at the school then I will.

As part of my research of the Bells farm estate/Druids Heath Area, if anyone has any photographs of the Municipal estate being built in 1965--67, or similar taken at that time--perhaps a family proudly standing outside their new home??( i understand C.Bryant & Son using the "Bison" construction method was the contractors who built the Druid's Heath estate) some photographs or even comments by past builders and early residents would be greatly appreciated its seems photos of the Estate being built is a bit of a holy grail at the moment as i know contractors and architects would routinely take photographs of projects "before & After".Many thanks